Judge sets hearing in East Chicago cleanup intervention case

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — A group of East Chicago residents seeking a role in negotiations over plans to cleanup lead and arsenic in their neighborhood will get their day in court.

A federal judge has set a Jan. 18 hearing for the residents and federal officials to argue whether the residents’ intervener status request should be granted.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is negotiating with companies held responsible for the contamination in East Chicago’s Calumet neighborhood for the planned remediation.

The Post-Tribune reports attorneys for the EPA and the Department of Justice contend the residents’ intervener filing came too late.

But the residents’ attorneys say those living at the U.S.S. Lead Superfund site only became aware of the extent of the contamination in 2016, and that plans to remediate their properties continue to change.

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